Manchester United vs Bournemouth Preview: Possible Lineups, Team News, Predictions & More
As United look to bounce back after a disappointing derby loss to fierce rivals City, they welcome Bournemouth to Old Trafford.
United suffered their first home defeat in 40 games at the hands of City who extended their lead at the top of the table to 11 points.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth were held to a 2-2 draw at the weekend by Crystal Palace as Jermain Defoe scored a brace.
As the two sides meet during the week, this is all you need to know:
Previous Encounter
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The last time Bournemouth won against United was on the 12th of December 2015, since then United have won two encounters while their most recent one ended in a 1-1 draw. Their last encounter, saw a great deal of controversy as United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bournemouth centre-back Tyrone Mings were both charged with violent conduct by the FA.
The game started with a flurry of attacks which could have seen United up by three or four goals had they been more clinical with their chances. Marcus Rojo opened the scoring for the home side with a goal that was long overdue in the 23rd minute.
The scores were then levelled up when Joshua King scored from the spot after Marc Pugh was brought down in the box by Phil Jones. The game was full of thrills and ended with Zlatan missing a penalty which could have sealed victory for United just after the 70-minute mark.
Team News
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United will be without Paul Pogba who also missed out on the Manchester derby after picking up a red card for stamping on Hector Bellerin during his side's clash against Arsenal. Pogba will be a big miss for United who seem to lack creativity in his absence however, they have, at times, shown that they can grind out results in his absence.
Bournemouth will also be missing key centre-back Tyrone Mings who has been ruled out with injury since mid-September. This will be good news for United as star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic became involved in much controversy with the centre-back on and off the field as both men were handed bans by the FA for violent conduct.
Manchester United Predicted line-up: De Gea, Valencia, Lindelof, Smalling, Young, Matic, Herrera, Mata, Rashford, Martial, Lukaku
Bournemouth Predicted Line-up: Begovic, Francis, Ake, Cook, Daniels, Cook, Surman, Stanislas, King, Fraser, Defoe
Prediction
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With Paul Pogba ruled out of the line-up for United, one may expect a low scoring affair, as he is often the creative clog that drives the Red Devils attack.
If Mourinho chooses to deploy Zlatan on Wednesday, then the Swede may look to get revenge on the side that caused him trouble last season while the Bournemouth back line will try everything they can to prevent the United man to from scoring his first goal back from injury.
Bournemouth have an extremely tough run of fixtures coming up, as they face Liverpool and Manchester City in their next two league games, therefore, any points that they can pick up along the way will be of enormous value.
To cap off a tough December, Bournemouth will also be facing Chelsea in the League Cup quarter-final. This could be a close game with United grinding out a victory late in the game.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Bournemouth
